Special Education (BS)

Why Earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education at Indiana State?

Special education teachers serve as empowering and influential figures in the lives of children with special needs. Our Bachelor of Science in Special Education degree prepares you to become that person for students in preschool through grade 12.

Teach Students with Exceptional Needs

Special education teachers inspire learning for students with a variety of exceptional learning needs. Our special education program prepares you to effectively instruct students at all grade levels who have mild disabilities, including specific learning disabilities, mild developmental disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disabilities.

The special education program prepares you to qualify for the special education teaching license at all grade levels (P-12) in Indiana.

Learn from Our Excellent Faculty

Indiana State’s instructors have extensive classroom experience and have worked with children as teachers, field experience supervisors, and independent researchers. These faculty will guide your experience on field trips, supervise your student-teaching experiences, and provide instruction and resources for other learning activities.

Small class sizes allow you to work one-on-one with your professors and collaborate with classmates on projects and interactive activities.

Work with Students Beyond the Classroom

The Early Childhood Education Center offers a quality learning environment and year-round professional care to children from infancy through age five. It also provides opportunities for teacher training, research, and service to students and other members of the local and regional community.

Special education majors also have opportunities to work with local students through the Professional Development Schools Partnership.

What You'll Learn in the Special Education Program

As a special education major at Indiana State, you will qualify for licensure to teach special education at all grade levels (P-12) in Indiana. Coursework leading to additional licensure is also offered in areas such as early childhood education and English as a New Language.

The special education program provides a strong foundation in special education curriculum, with topics including the science of reading, differentiated instruction, assessment, behavior management, preschool special education, and special education law and procedures. The program also includes important educational foundations, including psychology of childhood and adolescence and education in a multicultural society. There is a strong emphasis on strategies for collaborating with general education teachers, school psychologists, school counselors, related service providers, and families.

You will also complete the admission requirements to the Becoming a Complete Professional [BCP] Program. All special education students must be admitted into the BCP Program to have official status in the special education program and to become eligible for graduation and licensing. Each candidate is evaluated by program faculty based on academic and professional competencies.

Your special education degree program will include early field experiences, a semester-long internship, and a semester-long student teaching experience, which will include elementary and middle/high school settings. These experiences provide exposure to teaching at multiple grade levels and may be completed at rural, suburban, and/or urban schools

Transfer Credit

Indiana State University accepts credit from regionally accredited colleges and universities within the United States, and from selected schools located outside the United States. Credit also may be granted for military training and experience. Previously earned college credit can be applied toward completion of the program per Indiana State's transfer guidelines.

Transfer Guidelines

Career Possibilities for Special Education Majors

Special education graduates at Indiana State qualify to take the State of Indiana’s required generalist special education licensing exam for teaching students with special needs in preschool to grade 12. Our graduates establish careers throughout the country and are recognized statewide and nationally as outstanding educators.

A white female student with long brown hair poses outside. She wears a blue jean jacket with a black undershirt. A brick building, a sidewalk, and a lawn with green trees are blurred in the background.

Learning to Make a Difference

Elementary education and special education alumna Taylor Abbott (’19) participated in the Teachers of Tomorrow Advancing Learning Program, an internship program in which she worked one-on-one with a teacher prior to her student teaching experience. The internship broadened her perspective on teaching and helped her understand how she wanted to make a difference for students.

Learn about Abbott’s internship and her experience.

Accreditation

Indiana State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The Teacher Preparation Program at Indiana State University is recognized throughout Indiana—and the nation—for the quality of its graduates. The program was established in 1865.

Indiana State University has earned national accreditation by demonstrating excellence in the areas of content and pedagogy, clinical experiences, selectivity, program impact, and capacity for continuous improvement. Indiana State’s Teacher Preparation Program meets rigorous national standards for educator preparation set by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation [CAEP]. CAEP is the only educator preparation accreditor recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Higher Learning Commission